The woman who married a ghost

A wealthy man’s daughter elopes with a ghost who appears as a handsome man. She becomes the wife of two ghosts in Ghost-land, an underground realm. When visiting her family, the girl perceives her husbands as men, while her family sees only skulls. Her father persuades the ghosts to leave by offering goods. Later, the girl dies and permanently joins her husbands in Ghost-land.

Source:
Tahltan Tales
by James A. Teit
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.32, No.124, pp.198-250
April-June, 1917
Vol.34, No.133, pp.223-253
July-September, 1921
Vol.34, No.134, pp.335-356
October-December, 1921

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The story explores unconventional romantic bonds between a mortal woman and her ghostly husbands, highlighting the complexities of love that transcends the mortal realm.

Underworld Journey: The protagonist’s venture into Ghost-land, depicted as an underground domain, represents a journey into the realm of the dead.

Eternal Life and Mortality: The tale delves into themes of life, death, and the afterlife, particularly through the woman’s transition from the mortal world to Ghost-land and her eventual death to permanently join her ghostly spouses.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Once an adolescent girl was living apart from the people. She was the daughter of a wealthy man who had much property and many slaves. One night a ghost asked her to elope with him. She consented to be his wife, as he appeared to her as a good-looking man. He took her to Ghost-land, which was underground, and not far away. As the girl did not appear in the morning, the people thought she was asleep, and her father sent some one to waken her. They found her place empty, and thought she must have eloped with some man. Her father sent slaves to search in all the houses, and he counted all the men. She could not be found anywhere. When the girl arrived in Ghost-land, she became the wife of two men. She had plenty to eat, as the Ghosts were good hunters. After a while her husbands said, “Let us go and see your people! Probably you would like to visit your father.” They went to her father’s house and stood outside.

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The people said to her father, “Your daughter has come.” He told them to tell her to come in, and, if she had any husband, to invite him in also. They made places for them in the house, and the girl entered with two skulls rolling behind her. She took her seat, and the skulls took places one on each side of her. Her father told the slaves to cook food for them and to give them to eat. All the people kept looking at the skulls, and could not eat. The girl could not see any skulls, but instead two good-looking men. On the other hand, the people could not see any men, but only the skulls. The ghosts ate with their wife, and conversed with her; but the people could not hear them. The girl asked her father if her husbands might go hunting in one of his canoes. He told them to use a canoe that was on the river. When night came, the ghosts left, and took the canoe. They camped over one day, [day was the same as night to us, for they travelled and hunted at night] and returned the following night. They came rolling into the house, as before. The girl was glad to see them, and told her father that there was meat in the canoe. He went to see for himself, and, finding it quite full, he ordered his slaves to carry the meat up to the house. The girl told her father that her husbands said they would leave soon, and they wished to know whether he would allow her to go with them. Her father asked if they would return some time; and she answered, “No, we shall not come back.” Her father said, “Well, you must not go with them. I will pay them with much property, and they must leave you.” He made a pile of goods, and gave it to them before they retired to sleep with their wife. On the following morning they were gone, and the goods had also disappeared. This is why nowadays, if a husband ill-treats his wife, her father takes her back, and pays the husband for releasing her. The girl staid with her father, but seemed to think much of Ghost-land. She told that it was a good land, better than here, and the people were good. They did not quarrel and fight. Her father said, “Yes, I know, but the people there are ghosts.” She would not believe this. Before leaving, her husbands had told her they would come back for her soon. They meant that she was going to die. After a while she died, and went to Ghost-land to remain there as a ghost.

The ghosts who live underground are always seen as skulls rolling along the ground. People are afraid of them; for when they are seen, many deaths will occur. Other ghosts are like shadows, and harmless.

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A tse’dextsi story; or, the girl who married the dog-man

A wealthy man’s daughter secretly marries a dog that transforms into a handsome man. They elope, but she discovers his true nature and kills him. Returning home, she gives birth to five puppies. Shunned by her community, she survives alone. Observing her pups shedding their skins to become children, she burns the skins, permanently transforming them into human form. They later reunite with their community.

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The husband transforms between human and dog forms, and the children shed their dog skins to become human.

Family Dynamics: The narrative explores complex relationships within the family, including the woman’s marriage to the dog-man and her role as a mother to their unique children.

Community and Isolation: The woman and her children experience isolation after being deserted by their community and later seek reintegration.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about the Tahltan people

Tse’dextsi mean “rocks sitting down,” with reference to the rocks at this place, which were the Dog-Man’s wife and children.

A wealthy man had a daughter who lived in a recess off the main part of the house. The entrance to her chamber was from the main room, and the girl could neither go out nor in without being seen. Her father’s old dog was in the habit of lying down at the entrance to her room, and was always in the way. Going in or coming out, she had to step over him or kick him out of the way. One night the old dog turned himself into a good-looking young man. Then he asked her if she would marry him. She consented; and forthwith they eloped, and made their camp on a distant mountain. The man proved to be a good hunter, and always brought home plenty of game. The girl noticed, however, that each time he went hunting, there was the sound of a dog barking in the direction whither he had gone. She asked her husband about this; and he said, “Your father’s dog comes here,” She asked, “Where is he now? I will feed him;” and he answered, “I called him, but he would not follow me. He must have gone off somewhere.” She also noticed that her husband put all the bones from their meals on the opposite side of the fire. He never threw them into the fire.

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At night she often heard crunching of bones, and thought that perhaps her father’s dog had come. In the morning, however, there was never any sign of the dog having been there. She also noticed that her husband, on his return from hunting, invariably lay down for a short time and went to sleep quickly, as dogs do. She thought much over these things, and at last made up her mind to watch one night. She saw her husband get up, change into a dog, chew the bones alongside the fire, then change back into a man and go to bed again. She made up her mind to kill him. She prepared a block of wood and had a club ready. On the following day, when he came home from hunting, she said to him, “Well, you are tired. Lie down and have a nap. Put your head on this block while I cook for you. When all is ready, I will wake you up.” While he slept, she hit him on the head. He changed into her father’s old dog, and died. Now she returned to her parents, told them how she had eloped and that now she was pregnant. They said, “If your children are human, it will be well; but if they are dogs, it will be bad.” One month afterwards she gave birth to four male and one female pups. The people were angry, and at once deserted her, leaving her without food. She would also have been without fire had not her maternal grandmother taken pity on her, hidden some fire in a pit, and secretly told her of it. The people had left in canoes.

The woman dug clams every day, and fed her children abundantly. Sometimes, when she returned home, as she approached the camp, she heard sounds of laughing and talking, as though children were playing in the lodge. She also noticed sticks lying about, as if children had been playing with them. She watched, and found that the boys had stripped off their dog-skins and had assumed the form of children. The girl, however, was ashamed to strip naked, and pulled her skin down, exposing the upper part of the body only. The boys had piled up their dog-skins while they were playing. The girl would run out from time to time to see if their mother was coming. The woman then went down to the beach to dig clams. She set up a stick, and put her hat and robe on it, to deceive the girl and make her think she was still on the beach. The mother then went back to the camp, and, creeping stealthily up behind the girl, seized her and pulled off her skin. She then seized the other skins and threw all into a hollow log that she had put on the fire before leaving.

The boys grew up to be good hunters, and always supplied the family with plenty of meat. Now the family left the coast and moved into the interior, where there was plenty of game. They hunted on the north side of the Stikine River in the Tahltan country. As they depleted the game in each place where they hunted, they often moved camp and hunted in new places. When they had finished hunting in the Level Mountain country north of Telegraph Creek, they made up their minds to move to the south side of Stikine River. They forded the river at “The Three Sisters,” a little above Glenora. The girl, who was adolescent, and therefore not supposed to look purposely at anything, wove a robe with a hood which came over her head and face. She sat down at the river’s edge to wait for her mother, who was resting herself on the edge of the bank above and had divested herself of her pack. The four boys had entered the water. Their mother was watching them, and seeing the foremost ones struggling in the current, and, as she thought, in danger of being drowned, she called out in her excitement. The girl then looked at her brothers, who at once became transformed into stone in the positions they occupied in the water. Then she and her mother and her pack also changed into stone; and all of them may now be seen as rocks at this place. These rocks are called “The Three Sister Rocks” by the whites, because of the three large rocks in the river close together. The Indians call the upper rock Aske’tleka’; the middle one, Kasketl; the one next to the lowest, Tsexhuxha’; and the lowest one, Tlkaia’uk. These rocks are the four brothers. The rocks known as the girl and mother are on the shore, and a rock which stands out at the mouth of the little creek near by is known as their pack. Because the Dog men hunted throughout the Tahltan country on the north side of the Stikine, and killed off so much game, marmots are scarce there now, while they are plentiful throughout the country on the south side of the river, where they did not hunt.

The sisters who married stars

Two sisters, living apart from their community, whimsically wished upon stars to become their husbands. That night, they were transported to the sky, marrying the stars they had chosen. After some time, they yearned for Earth and crafted a rope from skins to descend. Upon returning, they found themselves atop a tall tree. With the help of Wolverene, they safely reached the ground.

► Themes of the story

Journey to the Otherworld: The sisters are taken from Earth to the sky realm to live with their star husbands, representing a voyage to a realm beyond human experience.

Supernatural Beings: The stars personify supernatural entities who interact directly with the sisters, influencing their fate.

Cunning and Deception: The sisters employ clever tactics to descend from the sky and later to manage their interactions with Wolverene, showcasing the use of wit to navigate complex situations.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Two adolescent sisters who were living together were staying apart from the other people. One evening when about to retire, they were playing and joking with each other. Happening to look up at the stars, one of them said, “Do you see that nice star? That is my husband. I wish he would come here and take me!” The other sister looked around among the stars, and picked out one which seemed very beautiful. She said, “That one is my husband. I wish he would come for me!” Soon after this the girls fell asleep. In the morning they found themselves in the sky. The stars they had chosen had taken them up during the night. They lived with these men as their husbands. The star men were great hunters, and always killed an abundance of game. The women had to carry home all the meat and skins. After a while they discovered a hole in the sky, and they used to watch the people moving on the earth below.

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They thought by what means they might be able to descend to earth, and, according to the elder sister’s suggestion, they secretly cut up skins and made a long rope. They told their husbands that some animal was eating the skins. When they thought the rope was long enough, the elder sister said, “I will go down first. If you feel me shake the rope, you will know that I have reached the ground. If I do not shake it, and all the rope is out, you will know that it is too short, and you must pull me up again. If you follow me, tie the end of the rope to the cross-stick over the hole, pull it up, and come down yourself.” Their husbands were out hunting. Both sisters reached the earth in safety. The rope was not quite long enough, but they alighted on top of a tall tree.

The younger woman had just got clear of the rope when the star men arrived, and, finding that their wives had descended, cut the upper end of the rope, which fell down and lopped off all the side branches of the tree. The women could not descend, and sat in the top of the tree, where a few branches were left. They called for help on the various animals that passed near the tree; but some passed without paying any heed, and others promised to help on their return. At last Wolverene came along, and they called to him. He said to them, “Yes, I can carry you down.” He climbed the tree and began to play with the girls. The elder girl said to her sister, “Keep him off until after he has carried us down.” She said to Wolverene, “You must carry us down first.” He carried the elder one down, and wanted to play with her, but she would not let him until he had carried down her sister. When he came to her, he wanted to do likewise; but she said, “You must carry me down first.” When he brought her down, he asked for his reward; and the sisters said, “We are hungry; you must get us meat first.” He brought the meat, and asked them again. They said, “Let us eat first.” When they had finished, he asked again; and they said, “We are thirsty; bring us water first.” Wolverene was now getting tired, but he brought the water. They said to him, “Take us up to the top of yonder steep bluff, and then we shall really give you what you want.” He took them there, and the women prepared a bed to sleep in. Wolverene wanted to sleep farthest from the steep bluff, but they made him take the place over the precipice. He lay down next to the younger sister, and immediately the elder one pushed him off. He fell over the cliff and was killed. Now the sisters left, and looked for the camp of their people. One night Bush-Tailed Rat entered their camp and killed and ate one of them. The other escaped and reached the people, who had given the women up for dead. The surviving sister told the people of her adventures and how the stars were fine-looking people.

Because of this story the Indians believe that it is dangerous to wish for the stars; for they may come and take you away, as they did the sisters in the story. Because Wolverene carried these women on his back, the wolverene at the present day can carry meat on his back.

The deceitful wife

A hunter struggles to find game, leaving his family starving. His wife discovers a bear’s den, hides it, and secretly kills the bear, feeding herself and their children while deceiving her husband. When her brothers arrive seeking food, she lies about their situation. Upon learning of her deceit, the husband kills his wife and children for hiding food and betraying him.

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on relationships within a family, highlighting betrayal and the consequences of hidden actions.

Revenge and Justice: The husband’s act of killing his wife and children serves as retribution for her deception and selfishness.

Moral Lessons: The tale imparts a lesson on the destructive consequences of deceit and selfishness within a family unit.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A man was out hunting. He had a wife and four children. He could find no large game. All he could get were small birds, sometimes only one or two a day. They were starving, and moved their camp. The woman found a bear’s den. She heaped a pile of snow over it to conceal it, and camped alongside. Her husband was hunting. That night he heard near the head of the bed growling as of a dog. He asked his wife what it might be, and she answered that she was scratching herself.

They were to move camp again the next day. In the morning her husband went ahead to try to find some game. He was barely out of sight when the woman killed the bear. She cooked the meat. Her husband smelled the burning hair and meat, and came back. As soon as she saw him, she hid the bear, and put the head of one of her children into the fire and scorched his hair.

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She told her husband that one of the boys had gone too close to the fire and had singed his hair. When he saw the boy with his hair burnt, he believed what she said, and departed. The woman fed herself and children, and put the rest of the meat on her toboggan. Now, her brothers were also starving, and, thinking that their brother-in-law might be well provided with game, they journeyed towards his camp. When they struck his trail, they followed it, and came to the place where their sister and her children had been eating the bear-meat. They saw the bear’s skull hanging there. They were glad, and thought that their brother-in-law had been successful in hunting. The woman concealed the bear-meat from her husband, and kept it for herself and her children. When her brothers arrived in camp, they said to their brother-in-law, “We are starving;” and she answered, “So am I.” They said, “We saw the skull of a bear that you had killed, and we thought you had meat.” Then the woman said, “I will give you some meat to eat,” and she took some out of her toboggan. The brothers were ashamed, and went off without eating. Then the husband killed her and the children, because she had hidden the food and deceived him.

The man with the toothed penis

An old man possessed a prehensile, toothed penis that could extend great distances, burrow underground, and gnaw through obstacles. He used it to feed on sleeping women without impregnating them. One night, a vigilant girl caught and severed the appendage. The man confessed his actions, stating he would die without it, and passed away, explaining why men today lack such features.

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The old man secretly uses his unique ability to prey upon unsuspecting women, deceiving the community about his actions.

Divine Punishment: Upon discovery, the community’s decision to let the old man die without restoring his organ’s severed part can be seen as a form of retribution for his transgressions.

Transformation: The narrative explains a change in human anatomy, suggesting that if the old man’s organ had been restored, men today would possess small teeth there; its absence accounts for the current human form.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

An old man had a penis that could reach a long distance. The end of it was provided with teeth which chewed like mice. It could cross water like a snake, and go under ground like mice and moles. When it met any obstructions, such as the roots of trees, it gnawed through them and went on. The man could distend or project it at will. When he thought he was observed, he drew it back, and it assumed ordinary proportions. It would attack women when they were asleep. They were not rendered pregnant, as the penis simply fed on them. When they awoke, they felt sick, but the feeling soon wore off. Once two young girls were sleeping together. The elder girl woke up feeling sick, and thought she had felt something touching her. She found that her breeches had been gnawed as if by mice. She put on breeches of thicker skin and watched. The penis came and began to chew them. She seized it and held on.

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The old man tried to pull it back, but he could not do so. The girl called for her knife, which was made of an animal’s rib. It would not cut. She asked for a sharper knife. The men came and cut off the end of the penis. The girl told them her story, and said that she thought the penis must belong to the old man who slept at the end of the lodge, for he was moving about. The next morning the old man was sick. He told the people that he was going to die. He said, “I am very sick and am going to die. I cannot eat any food, for I have lost my teeth. I don’t mind telling you everything, for you have found me out. Women’s privates are my food. If you give me back the piece that you have cut off, I may live some years longer, but I do not care very much.” The people let the old man die. If they had given him back the end of his penis, then men at the present day would have had small teeth there; but, as they withheld it, it has its present form now.

Tle’ntlendo’k

In a village, two young men secretly visited supernatural women at night—one a water-woman, the other a smoke-woman. Curiosity led each to discover the other’s liaison, resulting in mutual deception. Enraged by the betrayal, the water-woman killed all the villagers by plucking out their eyes, except a new mother who fended off the attack. She became a wanderer named Tle’ntlendo’k, believed to grant wishes to those who encounter her.

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The men’s secret liaisons and subsequent deceptions lead to betrayal and dire consequences.

Divine Punishment: The water-woman’s retribution against the villagers for the men’s actions exemplifies this theme.

Transformation: The surviving woman transforms into Tle’ntlendo’k, a wandering figure believed to possess wish-granting abilities.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

There were many people living at one place. Among them were two young men who always slept together. When the people were asleep, one man would get up and go away to sleep with a water-woman. Afterwards the other man would get up and go to sleep with a smoke-woman (the smoke from the camp-fire always changed into a woman at night). [Some people think this woman is the same as the marmot-woman or mother (see “The Man who became a Marmot”), but most people do not agree with this opinion.] The man who lived with the smoke-woman wondered where his comrade went. He watched him, and followed him to the lake where he heard him whistle. Something then came up out of the water, and the man jumped in and disappeared. The next night he arose first, went to the lake, and did as his comrade had done. He went down under the water to the water-woman’s house.

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When the other man came down to the lake and whistled, he received no reply. After waiting a while, he went back and found his comrade with Smoke-Woman. [It is said by some people that he returned and slept with Smoke-Woman himself. When the man who had gone with Water-Woman returned, he found him sleeping with Smoke-Woman, and both women found out that they had been deceived.] Water-Woman did not discover that another man was with her until he left her. That night, when the people were all asleep, Water-Woman, who was very angry, went to the houses of the people and plucked out the eyes of the two men. Then she went on and plucked out the eyes of the rest of the people, killing them all, A woman was camped outside in a shelter by herself, as she had given birth to a baby the night before. She did not feel well, and could not sleep. She often felt a hand passing before her eyes, and she always struck it away. This continued all night, and stopped only with daylight. In the morning she wondered why the people slept so long. She called to her husband, who slept near by in another lodge, but received no answer. After a while she discovered that all the people were dead, and that their eyes had been plucked out. She took her baby and journeyed towards the east. She became a wanderer, and known as tle’ntlendo’k Some people have seen her, and others dream of her. Some who have seen her claim that she is very good-looking and has long finger-nails of copper. She goes about carrying her baby. It is considered lucky to see or dream of her, and it is said that she grants people their wishes. One man asked her for riches and got them. He was not satisfied. He asked for more and more. He said, “Give me riches until I burst.” He became wealthier and wealthier, and one day he burst and died.

The faithless wife; or, the origin of witchcraft

A wife feigns illness to deceive her husband and secretly lives with her lover. Upon discovering her betrayal, the husband attempts various methods of witchcraft for revenge, ultimately succeeding by using a dog’s bone to gain supernatural abilities. He kills both his wife and her lover discreetly, leading the community to suspect him. This event marks the origin of witchcraft among the people.

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The wife’s infidelity and deception towards her husband.

Revenge and Justice: The husband’s actions to punish his unfaithful wife and her lover.

Forbidden Knowledge: The husband’s discovery and use of witchcraft to achieve his revenge.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A family lived in a large, long village in the Hutcenu’ country [a division of the Tlingit (Hutsnuwu, “bear-fort”)]. It consisted of husband, wife, and some children. The wife feigned sickness when her husband was at home. Whenever her husband was away, her lover came and staid with her. She said to her husband, “I have been sick a long time now; I am going to die soon.” Later she said to him, “I am going to die tonight. Do not burn my body, but put it on top of the ground in a house of poles.” [Some of the people in Hutsnuwu are said to have disposed of their dead in this manner.] She had already put rotten clams underneath her body. The people buried her as she had directed, and her husband went to the grave and cried for his dead wife. She was not there, however, for she had departed the first night after the pole-house had been erected over her. She went off with her lover, and was living with him in the farthest house at the end of the village.

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Some time afterwards one of her sons, who was a big boy, happened to go to this house. He was surprised to see his mother there. She never spoke to him, and feigned not to know him. When he came home, he told his father, who said, “You must be mistaken. You know that your mother is dead. The woman you saw may have a face resembling that of your mother, but it cannot be that she is alive.” The boy went back to the house and had a good look. He came back, and told his father he was sure it was his mother. His father then went, and, looking through a crack in the house, recognized his wife. He went home, and said to himself, “I wish I could do something to kill them!” He tried to bewitch them with every kind of thing, including dead people’s bones, but did not succeed. Then he tried the bone of a dead dog. When he put this bone on his body, he began to shiver as shamans do when their spirits come into them. He kept on working with the dog-bone and dog-spirit until at last he was able to fly. Now he made two arrows of hard wood [some people say that he took two hard-wood sticks and sharpened the points.], and, flying the whole length of the village, he caused everybody to fall asleep. He went to the place where his wife and her lover were, and pushed an arrow into his wife’s rectum, thus killing her. He killed her lover in the same manner. When the people woke up, they said, “Why have we slept so late this morning?” They wondered why the woman and man did not get up. They examined them, and found them stiff and dead, with arrows sticking in them. They prepared the bodies for cremation, and wondered how they had been killed. Now the husband dressed up in his best clothes. He seemed very happy, and went around laughing, and challenging people to play the stick-game. When he played, he always won. The people noticed that when he played, he always joked and called the trump toq qetz, which means “anus root-digger.” This and his changed demeanor made the people think that he was the murderer of the woman and her lover; but they said nothing about it at that time, as they did not know of witchcraft. Afterwards all the people of that place became famous as witches, and witchcraft spread from them to other tribes. In this way witchcraft was introduced.

The Water-Being as a lover

A man discovers his wife’s affair with a water-being from a nearby lake. Suspicious of her frequent absences and adornments, he disguises himself as her, lures the water-being, and kills him. He then cooks the creature’s flesh and serves it to his wife, revealing the truth mid-meal. Overcome with guilt and horror, she becomes ill, leading to her demise.

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Love: The woman’s secret affair with a supernatural entity defies societal and marital norms.

Cunning and Deception: The husband’s use of disguise and trickery to uncover and punish the affair showcases themes of wit and deceit.

Revenge and Justice: The husband’s actions represent a form of retribution for his wife’s betrayal.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A man had a wife who fell in love with a water-being who lived in a lake near their camp. The husband noticed that his wife was always sick and could do little work. When she went for fire-wood, she brought only a little. Yet every day she painted her face and combed her hair as young girls do. He became suspicious; and one day, instead of going hunting, he watched her. She went to the edge of the lake, where the roots of a stump extended into the water. Here she gave a signal. The water-being looked up in the middle of the lake, disappeared again, and came to the tree, where he made love to the woman. Afterwards she went home lame. The next day the man asked his wife to bring in some meat of the game that he had killed; but she protested, claiming to be too sick. Finally she went. Then the man painted and dressed himself to resemble his wife, went to the tree at the lake, and gave the signal.

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The water-being came out of the lake and embraced the man, who at once stabbed and killed him. He cut off his large privates and carried them home. He boiled them with pieces of fat and other meat. When his wife returned, he said, “I am sure you must be tired and hungry. I have cooked something nice for you.” When she had been eating a short time, he remarked, “Women now eat their lovers’ privates.” She looked, and recognized a piece of the meat, and at once became very sick. Her husband killed her and cut off her head. He then returned to where the other people lived, and told them what had happened.

Second version. A man’s wife always went to the shores of a certain lake to gather roots, and brought back hardly any. She would not go to any other place. Her husband became suspicious. She complained of being sick and lame. One day he told her he was going hunting, but instead sat down on a hill above the lake and watched. His wife came along; and when she reached the shores of the lake, she began to sing a love-song. A water-being came out and played with her. The husband told her he would go the next day and gather the roots, as she was sick and not able to gather much. He disguised himself. When he sang a love-song as his wife had done, the water-being came out. The man cut off his privates with a knife which he had concealed in his bosom. He boiled them, and gave them to his wife to eat. When she saw what she had been eating, she vomited, and afterwards, through shame, committed suicide.

The cannibal women who lured men

A cannibal woman and her daughter inhabited an island, luring men to their deaths. The daughter seduced visitors, convincing them to lie beneath her, then used her sharp forearm to slit their throats, after which the pair consumed the bodies. One man, suspecting foul play, visited the island armed with a knife. He reversed the roles, killed the daughter, and fled. The enraged mother pursued him but, exhausted from attacking his fortified shelter, was ultimately slain by the man.

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The protagonist employs cleverness to uncover the women’s plot and defeat them.

Good vs. Evil: The man’s struggle against the malevolent cannibal women.

Revenge and Justice: The man seeks to uncover the truth behind the disappearances and delivers justice by killing the cannibal women.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A cannibal woman and her daughter lived on an island. When men landed on the island, they were lured by the mother to make love to her daughter. The daughter induced the men to lie underneath her; and then she slit their throats with her fore-arm, which was as sharp as a knife. The two women then ate the men’s bodies. A man who lived on the mainland near by had noticed that no one who went to the island ever came back, and he wondered what became of them. He watched, and saw that they entered a house and never came out. He hid a sharp knife in his clothes and went to the island to investigate. He was called by some one who had a sweet, attractive voice. He followed the sound to the house. There he was met by the old woman, who invited him in, saying, “Come in and see my daughter! I have a fine daughter of great beauty.” He went in, and noticed the old woman sitting some distance away, partly concealed.

► Continue reading…

Presently a very fine-looking young woman came in from the other side of the partition, arrayed in fine garments and nicely painted and combed. She asked him if he cared to lie with her, and he nodded his assent. She told him to follow her to the other room. She asked him to take the lower position. He said, “No, I will not do that, in my country the man always is on the top.” The old woman thought they were taking a long time. She became anxious, and called, “Are you not ready yet?” The young woman answered, “No, he wants to be on the top, he will not go underneath.” Her mother said to her, “It does not matter, you can cut him just the same.” The young woman then agreed, and they lay down. The man quickly cut her throat, and covered her mouth with his other hand, so that she could not make a noise. The old woman asked again, “Are you not through yet?” and the man answered, “No, pretty soon.” When he was sure that the woman was dead, he withdrew his hand and quickly ran out of the house. The old woman was surprised to see him run out, and went to see her daughter. When she found her lying dead in a pool of blood, she gave chase. The man ran to a strong fort in the forest. The old woman, who was in a great hurry, ran straight through the forest, cutting a wide swathe of trees and bushes with the large knives on her fore-arms. When she reached the log fort, she attacked it with her arms, the knives cutting slices out of the logs. As she kept on cutting, she became more and more tired, and the knives more and more dull. When the house was almost cut through, she became so tired and the knives so dull, that she could hardly cut any more. The man then ran out and killed her with his knife.

The origin of mountains, etc.

Two brothers flee after killing their stepfather, pursued by their vengeful mother. To hinder her, they throw various parts of a caribou behind them, each transforming into different terrains: caribou hair becomes herds, the stomach turns into boggy land, bones create rocky ground, and meat forms marshes and lakes. Finally, they throw fire-stones, which ignite and consume their mother. This tale explains the origin of the region’s diverse landscapes.

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The tale provides an explanation for natural features like mountains, valleys, and other terrains.

Conflict with Nature: The brothers create natural obstacles to evade their mother, highlighting a struggle against natural elements.

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the complex relationship between the brothers and their mother.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Once two lads killed their step-father and then ran away. Their mother became distracted at the loss of her husband, and chased them, intending to kill them. She became possessed of extraordinary powers of speed, and soon drew near her sons, who were travelling on snowshoes and carrying caribou-meat. They threw some caribou-hair behind them, which at once became transformed into an immense herd of caribou that dotted the plateau so thickly, that their mother could not pass through them. She then transformed herself into something very small, and rolled through. Again she drew near; and the lads threw the contents of a caribou-stomach behind them, which changed into a boggy, mossy country full of thick brush. She surmounted this and came near again. They threw the stomach or tripe of the caribou behind them, and it became transformed into a piece of country with deep gulches, canyons, and valleys.

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Again she came near; and they threw some caribou-bones behind them, which became transformed into a tract of very rough, rocky ground. Still she pursued them. They threw some meat of the caribou behind them, which changed into marshy ground and lakes. Finally they threw their fire-stones behind them. They changed into fire. Their mother ran into it and was burned up. Had it not been for these men throwing the parts of the caribou behind them, the country would now be level instead of rough with mountains, valleys, gulches, rocks, and brush, as it is now.